Hospitality executive search: why connections beat CVs

Filling a director of acquisitions, an asset manager or a head of feasibility for a hotel business is a different job from hiring for the front desk. These roles sit where real estate, capital and operations meet, and the group of people who can do them well is small. That is the work of hospitality executive search: a specialist who finds, approaches and matches senior people for hotel owners, operators, investors and brands. What does a good search look at, and what should a candidate do to be found?

Alexander Shaw, Director of Real Estate at Aviary Consulting, recruits for investment, acquisition and asset management roles in hotels across the UK, Europe and the Middle East. He chose hotels after recruiting across every real estate asset class, because in his view people in hotels show a real passion for their work. His conclusion: skills matter, but connections decide.

What hospitality executive search covers

A hotel is a building, a business and an investment at once, and a specialist search firm organises its work around those layers. Shaw describes three pillars: real estate in general, operational hospitality, and hotel tech and prop tech. Within real estate he focuses on investment, acquisition, feasibility and asset management.

The range of seniority is wide. Shaw gives two examples of current briefs: a European hotel operator looking for a director of asset light investment, and an international hospitality investment manager looking for a vice president of acquisitions. Typical roles include:

• investment and acquisition roles, from analyst to vice president
• feasibility and development roles, which hotel brands need many of
• asset managers who report on and manage a portfolio
• hotel operations roles, from openings to running the property
• hotel tech and prop tech roles, a growing need as AI and technology come into hotels

Why specialise? Shaw had offers from recruitment firms that wanted him to open a hotel desk without knowing the hotel sector themselves. In his view a hotel-only team that covers the chain from investment to operations serves a client better. For roles below the executive level, hospitality recruitment starts with what candidates really want.

Why culture and brand identity shape the match

A CV shows that someone has modelled a deal or managed a portfolio, not whether that person fits the owner or the brand. That is why a good search starts with questions about the client, not about the candidate. When Shaw meets investment directors or CEOs, he wants to know the journey, the theme of the hotel and what is important for the brand. Only then can he look for people who see the vision and will add value.

They often come from a comparable place: a competitor of a similar brand, or someone who worked on similar acquisitions or asset managed similar properties. And culture means more than the team. It is also the culture and identity of the hotel itself. That culture is shaped by HR in hospitality as a strategic partner.

Shaw's team also visits hotels regularly, even without a client brief, to get a feel for the market and spot trends. For any hotel company that hires through a search firm, that is a fair test: does your recruiter know your type of property?

How market trends change who hotels hire

Hiring needs follow the market. One shift Shaw sees, especially after COVID, is the push towards mixed-use hospitality, and he says it is affecting the way his team finds candidates.

“It could be a hotel that's also incorporating other asset classes as well. So a good example would be companies incorporating coworking sort of flex office spaces.”

Alexander Shaw, 20:00

In his explanation, digital nomads want a desk, Wi-Fi and meeting rooms when they visit a city, which gives the hotel an extra revenue stream. He names Accor and Scandic Hotels as large groups moving this way. Retail is another route, but with a local angle: rather than putting a chain coffee bar in the lobby, bring in the coffee shop two or three streets away that makes great coffee.

For hiring, this means owners need investment, feasibility and asset management people who can judge several asset classes at once.

Why connections matter more than CVs in hospitality executive search

Recruitment, as Shaw puts it, is networking at the end of the day: speaking to people, learning their pain points and bringing in the right people to fix them. In real estate, he says, everyone knows each other, and in hotels even more so. His firm hosts small networking events in a hotel with five or six industry leaders to discuss the market and look for synergies.

A strong network also brings work that is not strictly recruitment. Shaw describes a European hotel operator that was eyeing a £200 million hotel portfolio in the UK and asked for help finding investors, and family offices in Dubai looking for trophy hotels.

That is why Shaw stresses personal branding: when someone looks for a job or a new team member, colleagues rarely recommend a firm. They recommend a person. Hotels work the same way, which is why an employer branding strategy matters.

What to look for in a search partner

Based on how Shaw describes his own approach, a few criteria help an owner, investor or operator choose a hospitality executive search partner:

• a team that works only on hotels, not a hotel desk added to a general firm
• hands-on knowledge of the roles it fills, such as an operations background or financial modelling skills
• its own network across investment, asset management, operations and tech
• regular visits to hotels to follow trends
• coverage of the regions where you invest or operate

Shaw applies the second point to himself. He is completing certifications in financial modelling and learning to build financial models for hotels, the same work his analyst candidates do every day. That helps him judge the strengths and gaps in a candidate's skill set.

“For me, I've been in the game a couple of years now focusing solely on investment acquisition and asset management.”

Alexander Shaw, 25:51

Advice for candidates who want to be found

For candidates, Shaw's advice comes down to visibility and knowledge:

• Speak to people in the area you want to work in.
• Do not be afraid to reach out, for example on LinkedIn. The worst answer is no, and people in hotels usually like to talk about their work.
• Follow who is doing what, who is moving where, and which new investment and asset management companies are being set up.

“Make sure you know your market knowledge because it's moving all the time, whether that be even in hotel tech or hotels in general.”

Alexander Shaw, 32:39

His closing point is the one that also opened the conversation: you need the skill sets, but skills can be taught, and connections cannot. For his full story, watch the full conversation, or explore other careers in the Room for Talent series.

Frequently asked questions

What does a hospitality executive search firm do?

A hospitality executive search firm finds and approaches senior candidates for hotel owners, operators, investors and brands. In Alexander Shaw's description, that covers investment, acquisition, feasibility and asset management roles, hotel operations, and hotel tech and prop tech, from analyst level up to executive level such as a vice president of acquisitions.

Why does a search firm ask about the culture of the hotel?

Because skills alone do not make a match. In Shaw's experience the search team wants to know the journey, the theme of the hotel and what matters to the brand, so it can find people who see the vision and add value, for example someone who worked on similar acquisitions or managed similar properties.

How do mixed-use hotels change hiring?

When a hotel adds coworking, flexible office space or local retail, it becomes more than a place to sleep, and Shaw says this affects the way his team finds candidates. Owners and operators need people who understand several asset classes and the extra revenue streams they bring.

How can I get noticed by executive recruiters in hotels?

Shaw's advice is to speak to people and not be afraid to reach out, for instance on LinkedIn, because people in hotels like to talk about their work. Keep up with the market: who is doing what, who is moving where and which new investment and asset management companies are being set up.